Many users have fallen prey to the WhatsApp OTP scam that can enable the hacker to get access to all your chats
WhatsApp is currently the most used chat application used by billions of users. Being the most used chat app, people have found loopholes within the functioning of the app to gain access to your chats.
And the latest scam regarding WhatsApp includes a hacker claiming to be your friend and asking you for the OTP he/she has sent to your phone number. Let us explain you in detail about how it works.
WhatsApp OTP Scam: How it Works?
Firstly, the hacker claims to be your friend and texts you regarding some kind of emergency and he/she has accidentally forwarded an OTP to your phone number.
Then he will ask you for the OTP which has arrived on your phone number. He will make up various situations to lure you in to forward the OTP. If provided, the OTP can then give access to hacker to all of your individual chats and group chats.
After the hacker enters the OTP, you will be locked out of your account. Then, the hacker may ask for financial help from your contacts claiming to be you, and saying that you are in some kind of emergency.
How can you prevent it?
The two ways in which you can prevent the hacker to get access to your account include verifying that if the person is really your friend or just a scamster. And the second way includes turning ON two-step verification for your WhatsApp account, after enabling which, WhatsApp will ask you for an additional 6-digit PIN after you login to your account.
To enable two-step verification, follow the steps below:
- Open WhatsApp Settings.
- Tap Account > Two-step verification > Enable.
- Enter a six-digit PIN of your choice and confirm it.
- Provide an email address you can access or tap Skip if you don’t want to add an email address. WhatsApp recommends adding an email address as this allows you to reset two-step verification, and helps safeguard your account.
- Tap Next.
- Confirm the email address and tap Save or Done.
